I am placing an order today for a press and I want to get powder, primers at the same time so I can get started. I dont have a manual so I am looking for a good clean burning powder for 9mm luger. What do you guys suggest? I am sure I will develope favorites of my own after a few batches. Also how many loads can I get from a pound?

__________________Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.Milton Freidman

The manual that comes with the Lee press is a bit light. I would recommend you buy an additional manual. Lyman, Speer, Hornady, all are good. I have 4 manuals and always cross-reference them when I am developing a load. Information overload is not a bad thing when reloading.

I load a lot of 9mm. It is a great cartridge for reloading and there are a lot of powders and bullet combo's to try.

Unique, Universal and 231 have produced the best results for me in that cartridge. I lean toward Universal because it is clean and meters very well in my Lee powder measure.

DMX@ I probably wont look to re-invent the wheel when loading 9mm. I am going as basic as I can. At this time I am just having problems finding any powder or primers. I have a press, scale, bullets coming and I have a pretty good colection of brass to clean and sort. Luckily I have a large vibratory tumbler to re-purpose for this task. I am going to go to harbor freight and grap walnut shells.

__________________Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.Milton Freidman

Finding powder may be a problem; finding small pistol primers will be even more challenging.

I use W231 for target loads (low recoil, reduced velocity). For medium to high loads I'm using Unique, which isn't super clean or easy to meter; however, it appears to be consistant over a broader range of weights. My more intense 9mm loads use Power Pistol.

If you really want clean burning powder, then check out VV-N320 or VV-N340.

__________________
A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part.

I have used a few different powders for 9 mm. WST, WSF, W231/HP38, AA2, AA5 and AA7. You might like WSF, W231 and AA5 better than the others. WST is no longer listed for 9 mm in most books. It fills the case well but since you probably won't be able to find data to double check what I use I suggest not using it. If you can't confirm load data from a reliable source it is better to find a different load. I like powders that are easy to measure with little difference between powder drops.

The type of bullet you use might make a difference as to which powder might be a better match. Also what you are using the ammo for could also make a difference. Since there are several things that could make differences, it is one reason to have at least one if not two or more manuals. The more you know the better the results become. It also makes it easier to ask the questions you need answers to the most. Some differences are really minor and for plinking ammo it might not make a difference. Others could effect things a lot and maybe too much. I check data with at least two sources before I get near the press. I still have not blown up a gun or lost any fingers doing things this way.

There are other manuals besides the Lee that comes with your gear.
Lyman is good and will give you a different slant than the self promoting Lee book.
You should have time to memorize it by the time you can find components.

But for something to look for, I load 9mm exclusively with HP38 which is the same stuff as Win 231.

I started with HS-6 it take a lot of powder so double charges are easy to spot. I am now using power pistol. The Speer manual came with my press. Listen to others it is nice to have reference.
Do yourself a favor and also get a three ring binder and write down everything about your loads and how they shoot. Sucks keeping up with post-its.

Bullseye is my favorite 9mm powder for factory-equivalent or lighter loads. But Green Dot is a good one for lighter loads (especially with light bullets), and GD is one of the few powders you can usually find in stock somewhere even when locusts have devoured everything else off the shelf.

Whatever powder you use, if you can't find small pistol primers anywhere you *can* use small pistol magnums or Federal small rifles (#205) even if it's not optimal. You have to work up the load from scratch using the hot primer.

Depending what powder you end up with, and what bullet weight, you can get up to 2000 loads from a pound of powder. 1700 is probably a better number for estimating.

__________________
"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun"

I have used both HS-6 and PowerPistol in a couple of Beretta PX-4's (both full size and compact 9mm) with great results. A point to remember with loading for autos is that each gun is designed for a certain range of recoil to feed properly whether long gun, short gun or shotgun. When I load up for my 9mm the starting load won't even eject the shell without stove piping. So one load that works for my pistol may not be very appetizing to yours. I only hand load for my self defense weapons for target shooting or other practice and use only factory loads for when I conceal carry or on standby at the house. The legal eagles recommend this because the courts tend to think hand loads are only meant to kill or wreak excessive damage and not for just stopping a threat. In addition, ballistic data for handloads cannot be used to determine how far you were from the intended target in order to prove there was an imminent threat or not. OH, THE TIMES WE LIVE IN NOW!! I miss the days when I used to ride through town on my bicycle with my dad's double barrell 12 ga. across the handle bars on my way to my favorite hunting spot a few hundred yards past the last house without even so much as raising an eyebrow!!!

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